Currently, in SDN networks, packet switching is performed mainly based on MAC layer address information. Such an approach implies that each device must contain a table of switching rules for each MAC address interacting with the network, or forward the packet to a controller for routing, which increases switching delays and reduces network performance. These requirements act as limiting factors for network scalability in case of a large number of users.
There is a known method of data flow control in the domain of packet-switched OpenFlow software defined network (SDN) switches (see US2015043589 (A1)-Dec. 2, 2015). In this method, at least one frame is received at the input port of the input switch of the SDN, the output switch and the output port of the SDN are defined, a most preferable path to the output port is calculated, and the frame is modified by inserting into its header a specially designed address field containing information about the most preferable path to the output port.
Disadvantages of this method include the mandatory insertion of the specially designed address field into the frame's header, as well as a requirement for the software of the switch and the controller to support non-standard field operations.